Best Newcomer at the Sunday Times Cookbook Awards

Sunday Times Food Weekly Editor Hilary Biller said: “This year we received far fewer entries than last year, but the judges agreed the quality was so much better.” She said that the judges looked for the “nitty-gritty” of the cookbooks and that the top six finalists’ recipes were put to the test by The Good Food Studio.

The judges who had the enviable task of selecting the best recipes in South Africa were Nompumelelo Mqwebu, head chef at Africa Meets Europe Cuisine; Siphokazi Mdlankomo, MasterChef SA 2014 runner-up; Stephen Billingham, president of the South African Chefs Association; Food Weekly editor Hilary Biller and Fresh Living magazine editor Justine Drake.

Biller said that modern cookbooks have a theme and a message and, most importantly, focuses on a healthy lifestyle.

NB Publishers was well represented at the ceremony with three books: Bitter+Sweet: A Heritage Cookbook by Niël Stemmet; Mariana’s Country Kitchen by Mariana Esterhuizen and Baking For Pleasure & Profit by Christine Capendale.